Roberto Alomar has already been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the Toronto Blue Jays Hall of Fame. Last week, the Orioles announced he has been elected into that franchise's hall of fame.

Alomar is not, however, in the Indians Hall of Fame.

True, Alomar only played three years in Cleveland -- but he also only played three years in Baltimore.

Players in the Indians Hall of Fame are not voted in. They are selected by team officials, who solicit opinions from members of the media, broadcasters and historians.

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The criteria for induction into the Indians Hall of Fame is that the player must have been active for at least three seasons for the Indians and be retired at least one year. Alomar qualifies on both counts.

Alomar also qualifies in the most important area of all: He was a sensational player, the best all-around Indians player I have covered in 29 years on the beat.

In his three years with the Indians (1999-2001), Alomar hit .323 with a .405 on-base percentage. In those three years, he averaged 121 runs, 38 doubles, 21 home runs, 103 RBI and 35 stolen bases per season -- as a second baseman.

Beyond the numbers, Alomar was always the most intelligent player on the field. He was always two or three steps ahead of everyone else in anticipating what was going to happen next. As far as his baseball IQ, it was like a man among boys.

He won Gold Gloves in all three of his years in Cleveland, was an All-Star all three years and finished third in the MVP voting in 1999 and fourth in 2001.

In 1999, the best of his three elite years in Cleveland, he hit .323, scored 138 runs, belted 40 doubles and 24 home runs, and had 120 RBI and stole 37 bases, and was the best defensive second baseman in the league. What more is there?

The Indians have done a great job with their Hall of Fame selections, and it's worth a trip out to monument park behind the center field wall at Progressive Field to look at the plaques. One of them is for Sandy Alomar Jr. It's time that another one is hung out there for his brother.

The Orioles way

Alomar told Baltimore writers he was pleasantly surprised to be selected to the Orioles' Hall of Fame.

"I was actually a little surprised. I'm honored. I'm happy to be part of such an elite group of people in the organization," he said "There are some great players that have been inducted into the (Orioles) Hall of Fame and to me it's an honor, it's a treat and it's something that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I'm real grateful to be a part of that elite group of players."

Clay pigeon

Two Blue Jays broadcasters and former major-league pitchers, Jack Morris and Dirk Hayhurst, accused Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz of using a foreign substance on the ball after Buchholz pitched seven scoreless innings in a 10-1 win over the Jays that improved Buchholz's record to 6-0 with a 1.01 ERA.

There's video of Buchholz wiping his first two fingers across his forearm, which appeared to be partially covered with a white substance.

"Before every start, I pat rosin on my arm, go up and get stretched," Buchholz said. "Every pitcher puts rosin on. That's why it's there. It is what it is."

Boston manager John Farrell was livid.

"It bothers me immensely when someone is going to make an accusation," Farrell said, "and in this case cheating, because they've seen something on TV. He's got rosin on his arm. I think rosin was designed to get a grip. The fact is the guy's 6-0. He's pitched his tail off. If people are going to point to him cheating? Unfounded."

Classical man

Prince Fielder's walkup music for his at-bats at Comerica Park is a few bars from Mozart's Requiem.

Fielder said he chose the music after he found out that teammate Torii Hunter listens to classical music leading up to games.

Fielder was impressed in spring training that Hunter "was so seasoned and had so much energy early in the morning" during spring training, so he said he told Hunter, "I'm going to do everything you do so I can play as long as you."

Snow birds

The Royals and Rays were snowed out after 3 1/2 innings of their game Thursday at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals were leading, 1-0, when umpire crew chief Ted Barrett ordered the tarp placed over the field. It was 2:19 p.m., and he had little choice. Conditions had deteriorated from sloppy to deplorable.

After a delay of 2 hours, 20 minutes, the game was officially called, and all stats went out the window. None of what happened officially took place. The Royals, predictably, weren't happy.

"If you play four innings, why not play one more?" Alex Gordon said. "What's the point?"

"It was an ill-conceived idea from the beginning," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "It didn't look good from jump street. I respect what the umpires did. I thought Teddy Barrett handled it really well calling it when he did. Like he told me, 'We lost the field.' That was the phrase he used, and I think he was absolutely correct."

No Joshing

The Dodgers' Josh Beckett looked good in spring training, and now is back to not so good. He's winless in his first six starts for the first time in his career. Beckett is 0-4 with a 5.24 ERA. He has pitched past the sixth inning in only one start despite averaging 94 pitches an outing. In his last 36 starts, going back to last year, Beckett is 7-20 with a 4.95 ERA.

The friendly but aging confines

Cubs owner Tom Ricketts created some controversy in Chicago last week by saying the Cubs could be forced to abandon their home of 99 years if more than $300 million in planned modifications to the ballpark are rejected by the city.

"I like it," Padres manager Bud Black said of Wrigley Field. "It's a unique setting. We relish the opportunity to come here once a year and enjoy the place. It has history. It has a personality.

"I like the smells, even though they're not the best. I like that it's not the easiest place to get around. I sorta like the coziness of the clubhouse. "Seeing the Cubs leave Wrigley Field would be a tough pill to swallow."

Bad numbers

During the offseason, the Indians toyed with the idea of taking a run at free agent pitcher Edwin Jackson, who instead signed a four-year $52 million deal with the Cubs, for whom he is 0-4 with a 6.27 ERA after six boo-filled starts.

"It's not the first time I've heard (boos)," he said. "I probably would have booed myself as well, so I don't blame them."

Around the horn

-- At the start of play Saturday, Miguel Cabrera, at .368, was second in the AL in hitting to the Indians' Carlos Santana (.383). Cabrera is bidding to become the first right-handed hitter to win three straight batting titles since Rogers Hornsby won six in a row from 1920-25.

-- Since throwing a perfect game when he was with the White Sox last season, Philip Humber is 4-11 with a 7.44 ERA, and so far this season he is 0-6 with a 7.58 ERA for his new team, the Astros.

-- The Phillies are 5-13 in games started by their Big Three -- Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay, and Cliff Lee -- and 7-3 in games started by Kyle Kendrick, John Lannan and Jonathan Pettibone.

-- The Astros have yet to win a game this season in which they trailed at any time. They are 0-19 in those situations.

-- Since being fired by the Phillies after the 2000 season, Terry Francona is 21-8 (.724) with the Red Sox and Indians against the team he first managed.

-- Teams had given intentional walks to Albert Pujols six times this season in order to face the slumping Josh Hamilton, who hasn't exactly offered Pujols much protections, going 0-for-6 in those situations.

-- The Dodgers' problem is their offense. It stinks, averaging only 3.37 runs per game (second-lowest to Miami at 2.82). The Dodgers are hitting .211 with runners in scoring position and .120 with the bases loaded.

-- Juan Pierre last week became the 14th major-leaguer since 1898 (when stolen base rules were clarified) to record 600 steals

-- Former Indians coach Jeff Datz, now the third base coach for Eric Wedge in Seattle, has left the team while he undergoes treatment for cancer.

-- John Buck's nine homers last month tied a Mets record for April.

-- Jed Lowrie set an Oakland record for hits in the month of April with 34.

-- Former Indians reliever Edward Mujica is the new closer for the Cardinals. Mujica was 6-for-6 in first six save attempts. His ERA is 1.64

-- Matt Moore of the Rays has joined Babe Ruth, Fernando Valenzuela, Greg Swindell, Dwight Gooden and Dontrelle Willis as the only pitchers since 1916 to go 5-0 in the month of April before turning 24.

-- Joe Mauer had gone five straight games without a hit before singling in the third inning of Tuesday's game, the longest consecutive-game hitless streak of his career.

-- Only 9,818 fans attended the Orioles-Mariners game on Monday night, the first time since Safeco Field opened in 1999 that the Mariners drew a home crowd under 10,000.

Three strikes

1. One suspects Terry Francona gave Nick Swisher one more day off on Friday because Francona didn't want to take Ryan Raburn out of the lineup when he was on an incredible 12-for-14 run. So Raburn played Friday, went 0-for-5 and gave way to Swisher on Saturday.

2. Drew Stubbs on Friday night became the second Indians player since 1916 to get four hits, including three doubles, while hitting in the No. 9 spot in the order. The other: George Uhle on June 1, 1923.

3. Twenty-two years ago Saturday, May 4, 1991, Chris James set an Indians record for most RBI in a game when he drove in nine runs with two home runs and two singles in the Indians' 20-6 win at Oakland.

Information for this column was gathered by personal interviews and from other beat writers around the league. Ingraham can be reached via email at: